Sam Ballard suffered severe brain damage from which he never recovered (Image: FACEBOOK)

Sam Ballard spent three years in hospital after falling in, before returning home in a wheelchair (Image: THEPROJECT)

She also said she does not blame Sam’s friends for the dare, and said they were just “being mates”.

Ms Ballard nevertheless previously acknowledged how the incident had “devastated” her and her son’s lives, saying: “It’s devastated, changed his life forever, changed my life forever. The impact is huge.”

One of Sam’s friends, Jimmy Galvin, who was present at the party, described the event as a “red wine appreciation night”.

Speaking to The Project, he said: “We were sitting, having a bit of a red wine appreciation night, trying to act as grown-ups and a slug came crawling across.